Seeking the Perfect Leather Book Cover

[JoeNiblick]

Does anyone have a good source for custom leather accessories? Actually, it doesn't even have to be custom, but here's what I'm looking for:

A heavy-weight cowhide (bridle leather?) slip cover for a month-by-month calendar. It wouldn't be complicated to make... But a single piece of leather folded in half with two additional pieces sewn on the ends of one side to slip in a thin cover.

I've searched the web to no avail. Suggestions? Thanks!

 

[Contrarytwo]

Leather book cover

You might try this company. http://www.renaissance-art.com/
They made a Bible cover for me and it has worked well.

 

[texasgirl]

Check out Colonel Littleton

http://www.colonellittleton.com/?p=products&cat=8

 

[John in Covina]

Levenger has had some nice but pricey covers for journals and such. You might want to rummage thru their site to get some ideas, too.

 

[JoeNiblick]

Thanks for the great links!

Contrarytwo, what great prices!

texasgirl, this is exactly the type of leather I'm looking for, but I think I need it to be custom.

Plus, as I was browsing your suggestions, I remembered I need a new bible cover as well!

 

[ProperRogue]

Check with Gfeller's

I would suggest checking out Gfeller's. I have their moleskine cover and a couple of other items and they are high quality.

Cheers,

PR

 

[sfend002]

Great idea! Let me know what you find.

 

[univibe88]

I would suggest checking out Gfeller's. I have their moleskine cover and a couple of other items and they are high quality.

Cheers,

PR

I was going to make the same suggestion. I also have their moleskine cover and I have a belt. I believe they do custom work as well.

 

[JoeNiblick]

I'm finally getting moving...

I didn't even check WHEN I started this thread, but I'm finally acting on your suggestions.

I ordered a bible cover from the http://www.renaissance-art.com/ in black. It's something I needed/wanted, but I'm not too particular about it. If I like it, I may end up ordering the calendar cover from them. They're certainly the least expensive, but I'm not convinced I'm going to like the leather.

I also ordered a horsehide portfolio from http://www.mw-traveler.com/ in brown.

Finally, I have emails in to http://www.colonellittleton.com and http://www.gfellercasemakers.com/ to see if they can make a custom calendar cover and how much it'll cost me.

I'll keep you updated!

 

[JoeNiblick]

Update

I placed my orders on November 29th, and I'm quite pleased with both the quick service and product quality for both. The M&W portfolio arrived on December 3rd, and the custom Renaissance Art cover arrived on the 4th.

M&W Horsehide Portfolio

The leather has a nice hand but is a little stiff. I was a little worried about a strong smell, but there's just a faint "new leather" smell. The portfolio seems quite durable, and I think it'll look great after it's been broken in a bit.

There's room for a standard letter size pad of paper, and there are also pockets for stray sheets as well as business cards.

The Renaissance Art Custom Cover

This leather is quite different. It's waxy, and quite pliable (there's no cardboard backer). It fits perfectly, and looks great already. The leather, as it looked in the company's website, has some natural wrinkles that add character to the leather.

After watching the Gfeller's YouTube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZUwmWlbwn4)on their book covers, I can see that there are several steps not done on the Renaissance Art cover that could be perceived as lesser quality. The edges are raw and unfinished, and the stitches aren't pressed into the leather. It's considerably cheaper than the Gfeller's cover, though. Over-all, I think the "skipped steps" only add to the character of the piece, and I'm quite pleased with the cover (and the price: $35 plus reasonable shipping).

I'm also planning on ordering the Gfeller's book cover, and that'll be custom to fit my calendar. They want to have the calendar on hand to custom fit it, so I need to get out and buy one for next year so I can send it to them. Gfellers (I hope) will be making exactly what I had in mind for my calendar. The other two were pretty much as I expected, so I'm happy... But weren't exactly what I wanted for my calendar.

Oh, and Colonel Littleton told me they don't do custom work.

 

[JoeNiblick]

I'll let you do the math...

My Gfeller Casemakers custom cover JUST arrived today. Actually, the guy who makes them had some medical issues come up, and so he was out of commission for a while. He's back in business (is that literally?).

The cover is made from "raw," waxy leather. If I didn't already own something that looked like this when I bought it (which now has an awesome patina), I'd be a little worried. The color is a little anemic, but I know that it will age beautifully, and in no time, it'll develop into a beautiful, warm golden brown. There are a few small marks already on the leather, which right now, look like a problem, but will all but disappear as the patina develops.

The workmanship is quite nice. The stitching is even and, as I previously noted, pressed into the leather for a more durable, finished look. Because it was custom made, it fits my calendar perfectly (I purchase the same size one each year).

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but I wanted a cover to class up my cheap, paper calendar. Friends and coworkers are always making fun of me because I usually have my iPhone sitting right on top of my calendar on my desk. I just prefer being able to flip through pages and write stuff down. I guess you can call me old-fashioned

So my next purchase? I'm thinking of one of these:

http://www.colonellittleton.com/index.php?p=products&f=prod&cat=8&id=lpji

 

[univibe88]

I am glad you went for the Gfeller. I have one of their covers in "natural" color. It really does develop a great patina.

 

[Tomasso]

If I didn't already own something that looked like this when I bought it (which now has an awesome patina), I'd be a little worried. The color is a little anemic, but I know that it will age beautifully, and in no time, it'll develop into a beautiful, warm golden brown.

That looks like bleached bridle hide, often used for saddles and tack. I have a Swaine Adeney dispatch bag in that leather and you're right about the patina, simply gorgeous. Hermès, arguably the worlds finest saddler and leather maker, crafts some wonderful stuff in bridle hide.